SAHO global search

1871-1952

Dr. Hans Merensky

… was born on 16 March 1871 in Botshabelo. His father was the famous missionary and writer, Alexander Merensky. Hans studied geology and mine engineering at…

B-0008545

1920-1977

Elmon Malele

… Elmon Malele was born in Mapulaneng in the Limpopo Province (Transvaal) in 1920. Malele came to … in 1943, and stayed in Alexandra township. He was one of…

B-0008416

Nombuso Mchunu

… 1972, Nombuso did casual work such as typing documents for the Garment Workers union , while she looked for permanent … to union documents resulted in her…

B-0067935

Stanley Silwana

… Stanley Silwana was one of the first African recruits to the  Communist Party of South Africa  (CPSA), he joined the Young Communist League in 1923 and…

B-0009055

1926-2004

Ethel de Keyser

… As a girl she had developed an interest in the arts, and in the 1950s married an up-and-coming actor, David de Keyser, a … to study further, and it was there…

B-0007984

1954

Wendy Schwegmann

… Design from Natal Technical college and is a graduate of the Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town. She lived in Johannesburg and…

B-0008998

1920

Jaydew Nasib Singh

… Singh was born in South Africa about 1920 and graduated in the mid-1940s with a law degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, where he was a…

B-0009066

1870-1946

Anna 'Sister Nannie' Tempo

… slave mother and father who were kidnapped as children off the coast of Mozambique . She was born in the late 1870s and grew up in Worcester. One day in 1884…

B-0124732

Paul Landau

… Professor Landau took part in the "One Hundred Years of the ANC - Debating Liberation Histories and Democracy Today" … organised by South African History…

B-0074126

1920-1991

Jonas Dinous Matlou

… north of Johannesburg. He became an early member of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) when it was found in 1944. In the 1950s he was very…

B-0008490

1921

Richard Ernest van der Ross

… Richard Ernest Van der Ross was born in 1921, he studied at the University of Cape Town where he received M.A., B.Ed., … in SACPO soon after its founding. In…

B-0068650

1969

Kim Ludbrook

… in 1990 and studied photojournalism from 1993-1994 at the Kent Institute of Art and Design, England, finishing with a postgraduate at the University of Wales…

B-0008340

1922-1999

Julius Nyerere

… Julius Nyerere was born on the 13th of April 1922 in Butiama village, next to Lake Victoria, in Tanganyika (name given to the British colony in Tanzania’s…

B-0125265

1932-1995

Barney Simon

… June 30, 1995, Johannesburg), was a long-time force behind the growth of indigenous South African black drama and served as the artistic director of the non…

B-0095118

1976

Dean Hutton

… mentorship and community organising. Dean was born on the 3 May 1976, to a poor family in Johannesburg, their … to them in their 3rd year and after teaching…

B-0008185

1900

Esther Franks

… Franks studied at the University of the Witwatersrand and was a member of the first Student Representative Council of the University. …

B-0008083

1913-1969

C. J. Mayekiso

… Born in 1913 in Idutywa in the Transkei, Mayekiso was a textile worker and later became president of the African Textile Workers' Union. He was a trade…

B-0008504

1922

Mary Goitsemang Ranta

… Ranta was born in 1922 and grew up in the  Pretoria  area. After leaving school, she worked as a ‘tea girl’ at the Pretoria mint, and later took employment…

B-0068382

1888-1942

Ruth Alexander

… Ruth Alexander was the daughter of a well-known Hebrew scholar, Solomon … eventually in June 1907 they married in New York, where the Schechter family were…

B-0066410

1937-2002

Justice Gizenga Mpanza

… arrived in Durban in 1954, he went to Lakhani House, where the trade union offices where situated. Here he met Stephen Dlamini who was holding discussions…

B-0067866

T. J. Lemon

… in 1984 whilst studying pharmacy. After winning the "Nikon Press Photograph of the Year" for an image used in a student newspaper, he … From 1989 to 1990 he…

B-0008315

1962

Ebrahim Rasool

… was born on 15 July 1962 in  District Six , Cape Town. At the age of nine in 1972 his family was forcibly moved out of District Six when the apartheid…

B-0008941

1957-2014

Chris van Wyk

… before moving to Riverlea, a poor suburb about 8km west of the Johannesburg, surrounded by dusty mine dumps. At the time, Riverlea, Johannesburg, Transvaal …

B-0098414

1962-2013

Jacob “Baby Jake” Matlala

… Matlala was born in 1962 in Meadowlands, Johannesburg. At the age of 10 he started going to the gymnasium with his father who was an aspiring boxer. … At a…

B-0008489

1931-2015

Lauretta Ngcobo

… Ixopo. She is well known as a feminist writer during the early 50’s though her work was only published in the 80s and 90s. Ngcobo was one of the main…

B-0008772

1912-2001

Milwa Mnyaluza “George” Pemba

… Port Elizabeth. Although art classes were not offered at the Van der Kemp Mission Primary School where he was … his father encouraged by buying him pencils…

B-0008875

1974

Basetsana Julia, aka “Bassie” Kumalo

… and Miss Black South Africa, was crowned Miss SA in 1994. The event is memorable as it coincided with the first democratic elections. Kumalo was the second…

B-0067467

1931-1972

Joseph Engenas Matlhakanye Lekganyane

… was born in 21 January 1931 in Moria. His father is the founder of the  Zion Christian Church (ZCC)  in 1910. He attended school … (standard nine). Joseph…

B-0008311

1936-2011

Bafana Cyril Dlamini

… de guerrre in exile was Edwin Ndlovu was born in 1936 to the family of a prominent political and trade union activist. His father, Steven Dlamini was a…

B-0068438

1937

Bokwe James Mafuna

… 15,was a manual laborer,then spent four years studying for the Catholic priesthood before changing course again.He … metalworkers,but abandoned this in 1968…

B-0080525